A Rainy Day in Spring
by Amberosia
Summary: A TK, Kari, Davis triangle. Plz R/R *and don't mind the horrible summary. I suck at summaries*


A/N- I'm feeling kinda stressed, so I'm taking it out on these poor characters. It's a Davis, Kari, and TK triangle thingie. Um, hope it makes sense. Please review.. and 

*Enjoy*

**A Rainy Day in Spring**

"Ladies and gentlemen, yet another point scored by none other than the green team's player number 8. Who is this young man? NONE OTHER THAN OUR OWN TK Takaishi, who has tied the game. And now, with under 20 seconds left on the shot clock, and the ball in the opponents hands, can we possibly score? Oh, number 7 goes to the hoop and SCORE! The green team is falling behind with just 6 seconds to go- 4 seconds- The ball is passed to Takaishi- can he score with only one second to go??? OH LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, this is phenomenal, Takeru Takaishi, number 8 on the green team, has scored a three pointer, with less than a second left on the shot clock, and has won the game with a score of 112-111! GOOOOOOO TEAM!!! Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for joining us, and we hope to see you next week, in the final game between the green and blue team, where only one team can take home the cup," with that, a loud cheer was fired like cannon balls from a cannon. I must admit, it was a pretty suspenseful game, and I enjoyed every moment of it. I was still overcoming the shock from the audience's loud cheers, when my teammates all seemed to jump and crowd around me, patting me on the back, giving me high- fives, and congratulating me. 

"But guys, I didn't do anything. You all played twice as good as I did tonight," I humbly replied, for I didn't see why _I _should be congratulated.

"Uh- as far as we remember, you were the one who won the game and sent us to the finals! Three cheers for TK!" and before I could say anything, the little speech was followed by "Hip Hip Hurray"s. I thanked the guys, and once again, told them it was nothing. They all headed for the locker room, while I stayed behind with the coach, who was anxious to talk to me. He waited till the auditorium was empty, and then he began a little speech about how wonderful I was. I blushed, and thanked him for his encouragement. He then left the gym, almost prancing away, since it was the first time in years that his team had made it into the "High school basketball Finals". I looked at the empty court, the seats that were once full of cheering people were now empty and silent. I picked up the little white towel that was beside my feet, wiped the sweat off my face, and then, picked up the basketball, and started shooting some hoops. 

"Hey, Teek, you gonna join us at the party tonight?" I saw Jim, an offence player on the team, fully dressed and looking fresh, by the opposite basket.

"Uh, no, gotta go do homework," I sighed for I wanted to go so much, but the better half of me told me to stick to being a good student. 

"Yeah, well, sorry you gotta miss it."

"Me too- but hey, don't fret. We'll celebrate after we win the trophy next week, what'd you say?" he smiled, and I felt better. He waved goodbye, and I went back to shooting my last couple of hoops, when a slender figure came and tapped me on the shoulder. I turned around, and two arms came flying at me, and were soon wrapped around me, so tight I could hardly breath. I recovered myself from the shock, and when I stepped back, I saw Kari, dressed in a white sweater and blue jeans, with her camera around her neck*as usual*. I was stunned, and could not express my happiness, and the only words that came out of my mouth were,

"You came!" 

"And I'm happy I did! I caught you on camera when you made that shot!! You have to teach me how to do cool stuff like that. TK, you're amazing- no- you're beyond amazing! WOW!! That was awesome!" I blushed, and was looking for something to say, 

"You came all this way and now you're all sweaty. You should have waited till I took a shower!" 

"Men- did it ever occur to you that I came to get sweaty on purpose so I could take a shower _with _ you?" I blushed again, and my hands went towards the sweaty towel, and then, I threw the white object at her.

" Now, you're even sweatier, and can take a longer shower!" I laughed though, cause I knew she was only joking. I then saw her imitating the "taking off the shirt" motion, and I thought she was actually going to take off her shirt, and I said, "Shouldn't you be taking showers with Davis?" I said that rather coldly, even though I hadn't meant it to be cold.

"You're right. In fact, I'll go to him right now- Oh wait, he's out celebrating Jun's birthday, and I know how he hates to be disturbed when out with his family, especially by lil ol' me, so I guess I have to take a shower with you," this time, she actually took off her shirt, but she was wearing a black tank top underneath. It must have been the scared expression on my face that made her break out laughing. I thought about the whole thing for a second myself and started to laugh as well. 

"So, wanna play a little one on one? First one to reach 20 gets to dare the other person to do something," I nodded, cause I liked Kari's daring side. Don't get me wrong, it was great having a nice, calm and tranquil best friend, but ever since I had met this new side of her, I'd found myself liking her even more. 

"Sure- as long as it doesn't include taking showers, even though I think we'll both need one after the game, especially me," we both laughed again, and we started playing. I decided to go easy on Kari, since I had nothing to "dare" her to do. She was my best friend, and I couldn't cross the line between friendship and relationship. But the fact that we were so comfortable with each other would often have me thinking-*ehem* anyways, I was curious to know what Kari had planned for me. 

We played for about fifteen or twenty minutes, Kari "beating" me by 4 points. I said she could think up a dare for me while I took a shower. She agreed, and in no time, I was out, feeling refreshed. We walked towards my locker so I could grab my school stuff, and were out of the school.

"So, what's the big dare?" I asked anxiously.

"Um.. I couldn't think of anything, so I'm gonna "dare" you to come over to my place and let me join you in doing your homework- no- let's rephrase that- we'll each do our own homework, you'll just keep me company," I smiled, and I knew that I'd get no work done starring at her for most of the time. 

When we reached the apartment and entered, I found that no one was home. Kari walked in, picked up a piece of paper and told me that Tai was out with Sora and was not expected home until late at night. Then, she told me that her dad was out on a business convention and that her mom had joined him, as Tai at 17, and Kari at 14 were perfectly capable of taking care of themselves and one another. 

We soon finished our homework, which to me was big surprise, as I hadn't expected to complete anything . I looked at my watch, 7:34. I asked Kari if she wanted me to leave, and she said that she'd like me to stay and keep her company. So, I called my mom,

"Takeru Takaishi- where have you been? I've been worried sick about you!" she cried over the phone, probably loud enough for Kari to hear.

"Sorry I didn't call sooner mom. Well, I'm at Kari's right now- we finished our homework. I called to ask if I could stay a bit longer. I promise I'll be home by 9:00," I paused to catch my breath, and then continued," by the way, we won and the finals are next week. Kari caught me on camera, so as soon as the picture develops, I'll ask her for a copy!" 

"That's great honey. Now, be a good boy," her tone was now calm and motherly again, but it didn't last long- at least not the calm part- she started to speak so loud, though her intentions were for Kari to hear ," now Kari, take good care of my little boy, and make sure he doesn't get into any trouble!" and Kari replied with a loud, "Don't worry, he'll behave!" and with that, I say goodbye to my mom, and went back to Kari, who was giggling. 

"Did you hear that? Your mom wants me to take care of you!" and with that, she walked over to the couch in the living room, and I followed, "now come, and we'll talk for a bit." I walked over, and lay on the couch, resting my head on her lap, as she brushed her gentle fingers through my hair. Her tender touch reminded me of the days my mom would pat me on the head when I was a good boy, and then, I thought about how Kari and I hadn't been together as often as we used to.

" Hiki," I said, as it was my nickname for her," I miss you," I didn't expect her to understand what I meant, but she did. She always understood, that's why she was such a great friend- a best friend- the bestest friend a guy could have in a girl.

"So do I Teek- what happened to us? It seems like only yesterday when we were running around like a boy and girl, not caring about anything in the world- seeing each other so often that it was impossible to separate, and look at us today- the only time I see you these days is in class, and maybe once a week after school," then she stopped brushing my hair for a second, and I was just about to ask her to continue, when she gently lifted my head up, and stood up, her face glowing like the golden sun, "let's go back to those days," I gave her a startled look, which I'm sure she expected, and she continued, "come on, we'll go to the park! We can swing on the swings, go up and down on the see saw, push each other down the slides, and run around like we used to. Please say yes!" I smiled, as I approved of the idea since the April weather was nice and warm, and the sky was still bright enough for us to go. 

The park was right across the street from where Kari lived. We raced to the one swing that was in good condition, and she happened to get there before me, so I was pushing her on the swing for a while, until she grew tired of swaying back and forth. I was exhausted myself, so I didn't mind the break. We went on the see saw next, and had a grand time, until both our legs were soar from pushing on the ground. That's when we decided to walk away from the playground, and towards the more "elderly" side of park. We found a bench by the trees, and sat down, this time, Kari's head resting on _my _lap. I followed her routine by softly brushing my fingers through her silky brown hair. I knew she liked the feeling, cause I saw her close her eyes and take in a deep breath. The only sound we could hear was the noise of cars that were driving on the street, but they were faint sounds as we were deep into the park. 

We remained in the same position for a few minutes without speaking, each of us enjoying the beauties that we wanted to. I was looking at Kari, who still had her eyes close, and that's when I noticed tears coming from her eyes. I dried them with my finger, and wrapped one arm around her to make her feel loved. She then took my hand with hers and hung on to it so strongly, as if she never wanted to let go.

"Hiki, what's the matter? Is anything wrong?" with that, she held my hand tighter than before and tears rushed down her cheeks like rain from the clouds.

"I wish things could go back to the way they were," she cried, as I dried the tears with my free hand, " I wish I could turn back time."

"Whatever do you mean angel?"

"Ever since I started dating Davis, things have been different. I don't get to spend time with you anymore. And the worst part is, I'm depriving you from being with me, not that you'd want to after how I've treat you lately," she sobbed, now lifting her head from my lap and finding a new place for it on my shoulder. I wrapped both my arms around her, and she wrapped her arms around me too, as tight as those two fragile arms could. 

" Hey, don't you dare cry over me like that! I'm not worth your tears, save them for when you really need them. And it's my fault too, I should be visiting more often. Now, smile and be happy, cause I promise to never ever let you down," she drew her head back from my shoulders and looked at me, with her sunny face again, and tired to show a smile behind all those tears. She went back to hugging me, and this time, she held on as if she never wanted to let go, and who was I to disturb the peace?

~*~

I lay awake in my bed that night thinking about what had happened between Kari and myself. 

'''I wish things could go back to the way they were."' those words kept repeating themselves. '"I wish I could turn back time."' Was there another reason for Kari's tears? Could there be something else causing her to ache? I felt rather tired and decided to run these thoughts through my head first thing in the morning.

~*~

"TK honey, are you staying after school today?" asked mom, as she took her head out of the fridge, brining the container of milk to the breakfast table. 

" Yeah, but only for an hour. How come?" I questioned, as I poured the milk from the container into my bowl of cereal.

"Oh, it's just that a mother has a right to know where her son is. Last night, you had me worried sick. Thank goodness you called at last, or else I would've gone crazy," and she sighed, cause she had forgotten the butter and she had to get up again and stick her head back in the cold fridge.

"I'm *crunch* sowwry- Neha gowa happow agan," I swollowed my spoonful of cereal, and repeated my self, " Never gonna happen again, I promise," she came back to the table, smiling, but her eyes were sad,

"You know TK, when you're a single parent, life's very difficult. You're all I have, and well, I don't want anything to happen to you," I couldn't help but feel sorry for my mom. I mean, it's probably not easy living all alone with a teenage son. At least dad has Matt, and they get together fine despite their little quarrels. Mom and dad were on better terms now, but they didn't get back together, trying to avoid hurting us. But I guess I was happy knowing that they were on friendly terms. I finished my breakfast, gave my mom a hug, and left the house. 

I had left a few minutes early because I needed to make a stop before I went to school. I walked to the convenient store, and came out with a little card that said, 

_"I'll be here when you need me" _

I signed my name under the writing and was off to school, when I met with Davis.

"Hey, TK, congrats man, I heard you won the ball game last night! So, you guys are in the finals?! Wow... I wish I could see the game but it was Jun's birthday," and with that he rolled his eyes, and I just laughed. 

"Yeah, so the soccer tournament's tonight, right?" I asked, trying to show some interest in his sport. 

"Uhuh! You gotta come and see us kick some K.H.S butt!" I told him that I'd be there, and a few seconds after that, we arrived at the school, and were off to our classes as the bell had just gone. I got to my locker as fast as I could, took all the necessary books and notebooks, and the little card, and had a few minutes to spare. So, I slipped Kari's card through her locker and was off to the "wonderful world of math". 

Before I knew it, half the day had gone by, and it was lunch time. I ran to the cafeteria, as I was very hungry. I got my usual lunch, which consisted of P B & J Sandwich, a can of cola, and a bunch of grapes. I headed towards my usual table, where I sat with the guys on the team. I used to sit there with Kari, but then she started dating Davis, and she changed seats to where Davis and his "soccer pals" dined. 

And before I could say another word, the school day was over, and I was getting ready to go home. I decided that I should go home, get some homework done, and tell mom that I'm going to Davis' s game before she freaks out again. I was about to step out the door, when I heard Kari screaming my name,

"TK..," and she stopped, gasping for breath, as she had run all the way from her last class just to say, "thanks for the card, it brightened up my day. Hey... you coming to the game tonight?" I nodded, waved goodbye, and left for home.

~*~ 

Soon enough, I was back at school, my hair dripping wet, as I had taken a shower before coming, and the part of the blue t-shirt that covered my shoulders was probably soaking wet. I thought I was early, but I guess I was wrong, cause when I arrived, all the seats surrounding the soccer field were full. It made me think of the basketball game last night, with the cheering crowd. I was walking down the stone steps when I heard a voice calling me from below,

"Teeekaaay!!!!! Down here!! I saved you a seat," no doubt, that was Kari's voice, who was calling from the first row. After all, her boyfriend was playing. I walked all the way down until I was standing right across from Kari. 

"Hey Hiki- I hope you're this excited when _my _game comes," I said as a reminder that the basketball game against L.H.S was in six days.

" I'll be twice as excited just for you!" she threw her arms around me, and then we took our seats," and just cause you're the sweetest person ever, I'm gonna throw in a bonus and show up for practices too!"

"But practice is at 7:00 in the morning. I don't want you to have to do that. I don't deserve such a bonus," I said with a smile.

"Oh yes you do, plus, it gives me a chance to see you all sweaty, and then, I'll probably be tempted to give you a hug, and I'll get sweaty and-" 

"K, I get the message. Fine, you can come if you want, and I'll be super extra sweaty just for you! Now, let's start watching Davis before he gets any ideas or gets jealous," I said with a laugh, and then turned my eyes from Kari to Davis, even though I could have spent the entire time starring at Kari, but I had to practice what I preached.

The game was finally over, and our school won the trophy. The crowd was cheering and before I knew it, Kari was on the field, and all over Davis. I knew she wanted to be alone with her hero, after all, he scored the winning goal. But I didn't let it bother me, cause I'd get my chance in 6 days- anyways, so I left the field and walked home all alone.

~*~

The next morning, I arrived at school at 6:45, placed everything in my locker and went straight towards the locker room. I found that I was the first person to arrive, so I quickly changed and went inside the gym and started my warm up so I had more time to shoot hoops. I was just about finished running my 5th lap around the court when the gym door opened with a creaking sound, and Kari entered. I ran towards the door to greet her. 

"You left early," she said, as she finished giving me a "hello" hug.

"Yeah well, I guy knows when a girl wants to be alone with her hero," I replied in a soft tone.

" Aww... you're the absolute sweetest! I wish you would've stayed, cause we went to celebrate," she said, trying not to smile, for she didn't want me to feel bad. 

"S'okay," just then, the coach walked in,

"The early bird gets the worm I see- well, in this case, the early bird gets the butterfly," he said, looking first at me, and then at Kari. We both blushed, and he just continued, "but for now, the butterfly's safe, cause the bird's gotta get flappin, or else he won't be able to fly well, and if this bird in particular doesn't fly well, then we're all as good as doomed," Kari just giggled, and went to sit in one of the first row seats, and I just ran another lap, and started shooting some hoops until the other guys came, and were all warmed up.

It seemed like only seconds before the coach blew the whistle that indicated practice time was over. I dived for my towel and bottle of water, and was joined by Kari, who was talking about our practice game. I told her to wait while I freshened up, and she stayed behind while I took a shower and changed back. As soon as I was out of the locker room, she grabbed my arm and linked it to hers, and we walked to our lockers together.

"Hmm.... the bird and the butterfly eh? Lovely combination, don't you think?" she said smiling as usual.

"Nah. Butterflies belong with caterpillars- not that I mind butterflies or anything, but-"

"But you prefer bees. Yah know, birds and bees-" she gave out a little chuckle, and I gave her a light punch. 

"You naughty naughty little girl. You're too young for these things. Tsk tsk- I guess I have to teach you a lesson- anyways, what I was going to say before you _"rudely" _interrupted me was that early caterpillars catches the butterfly, much quicker than the poor bird. Plus, birds eat butterfly- complete opposites," I said, feeling a bit sorry for myself.

"Yeah, well, opposites do attract... and the bird and the butterfly both have wings, so they can fly away together," she sounded pretty convincing there, but I decided not to let my guard down, and replied with a,

"But as far as I'm concerned, the butterfly is happy with the caterpillar, and bird's just flapping around for his share," we both laughed at that. I was laughing because it showed exactly how pathetic my life was, and she was probably laughing because well, she probably thought that my life was pathetic too.

After the morning practice, things went back to normal. Kari and I didn't get to talk until after school, and the only way I could contact her was through notes that I slipped through her locker. I kept thinking to myself, 'why the hell can't you just go up and sit with her at lunch? If it's Davis's friends you're scared of, then ask her to sit at your table. Write her a note if you don't wanna go straight up to her-' and then I thought about Davis and his pack of friends, ' yeah, so they're not exactly the most down to earth people- each of them have been dating since they knew what the word meant, and think that they're all that-' Davis is better than them though, he's kinda more down to earth, but still has that wild side to him that I could never find in myself. I finally found the courage to write her a note, asking her to sit with me during lunch. Quite frankly, it wasn't her I was afraid of- it was how she'd be treated by Davis's friends if she accepted. But then again, it's not like I'm a geek or anything, I'm just not _their _type of person.

~*~

_My dear dear little sweet burdie,_

_The poor butterfly really wants to eat with you, but fearing that she'll be **eaten** by not the bird, but by the worms *caterpillar's friends*, she has to refuse. But she still luvs you as much as she did before, and hopes that the burdie understands, and is not planning to have the butterfly for lunch!_

_your fluttering friend,_

_the butterfly_

_P.S We'll fly away someday, I promise._

I sighed, and laughed, and felt a bit hurt all at the same time. I really wanted to spend some time with her and well, it wasn't really possible. So, at lunch, I just picked up my tray and usual menu and was off to sit with my friends. 

"Guys, you wanna join us today?" I looked up and saw Veronica, captain of the cheerleading squad, looking at us all with eager eyes. 

"How come?" I asked, as it wasn't everyday that the cheerleaders ask you to eat with them.

"Like, you guys are going to win us the trophy, and we like wanna be with like our heroes," before I could make another comment, Bob stole the spotlight. Not that I minded or anything, seeing that his question was something similar to what I was going to ask.

"So, why not eat with the guys from the soccer team? They just won the soccer trophy."

"Like oh my gosh," said Sherry, who was another cheerleader, "you guys are like too humble. The soccer team is always winning the trophy, but it's the first time the basketball teams like made it to the finals," and then I looked at where the cheerleaders usually sat, it was by where Kari sat. 

"Okay, if you put it that way, sure, I'm with it," and I picked up my tray and walked with Sherry, who linked arms with me, the rest of the guys followed. As we walked across the cafeteria, Kari's eyes caught mine, and I signaled her that I was sitting with the cheerleaders. I took the closest seat to where Kari was, and then "accidentally" dropped my fork.

"I'll get it," said Kari, who was more than anxious to get away from the "worms" as she called it. But it wasn't until then when I totally agreed with Kari upon calling them worms, for as soon as Kari said "I'll get it," I heard one say,

"Well, if it isn't TJ. So, how come you didn't stay until the celebrations last night? Afraid that _ your_ team's gonna lose? Or maybe you had to go home to your lonely mom..." I felt my face burning with fire, and I saw Davis telling his friend to calm down. Just then, one of my good pals, Ryan stood up, 

"Hey, Mike, you better watch it okay? You don't go around talking about my friend like that," and that was it. Mike stood up, and shook his fist at Ryan. Ryan was usually a very calm person, and hardly resorted to violence, the only time he showed his aggressiveness was when playing on the court, so I knew that he wouldn't punch Ryan. Then, all of a sudden, a fist came flying at Ryan, and I stepped in between the two, trying to stop them, and I took the blow. I bit my lip and rivers of blood started streaming down my face. All eyes were now on our two tables, and I couldn't help but feel as though I should get Mike back, but I wouldn't sink down to his level. I walked away, all eyes following me, the cafeteria filled with silence.

I went into the washroom, and try as I might, I couldn't stop my lip from bleeding. It kinda reminded me of the movies where someone struck oil, and it just gushed out none stop. I went to the nurse's office, but to my luck, no one was there. I went to the first aid kit, took out a white cloth, placed it on my lip and watched it turn red. But it was the best I could do. I wrote the nurse a note, saying that I took the cloth, and was on my way back to the cafeteria when I met with Kari. Her expression was full of fear, 

"Oh, my poor little burdie! I swear, I'll kill that worm-" I wanted to smile cause Kari always looked cute when she got mad.

"I'm fine, a little injured beak- but that's it. At least my wings are still flapping so the coach ain't gonna kill me," and I saw her smile, cause she saw that I wasn't in that bad of a condition. She then asked for the cloth, and I gave it to her. She tore off a white piece and went into the washroom, and came back, and placed the damp cloth on my lip. 

"That should be more effective. Now, I'll go to the nurse's office and see if I can borrow an icepack," and off she went, and back she came, ice pack in hand. She placed it on my mouth, and I tried not to scream, as it was stinging my cut lip.

"Now, what on earth made you wanna come over to the cheerleader's table? You knew that the worms were all eating there,"

"Yeah, but I also knew that it was my only chance to sit near a certain little butterfly," and with that she smiled, linked arms, and went to the nurses office, where she said I should sit until the lunch period was over. I couldn't refuse the offer, especially when she said she'd keep me company.

~*~

"Oh dear God, Takaishi, what in the world happened to you?" asked the coach after seeing my lip, which now looked like a balloon.

"Nothing sir- just a little harmless prank. But my arms and legs are still working, so you need not worry," I replied, trying to calm him down. I heard Kari giggling from her usual seat, and I couldn't help but giggle too. 

"Now, stop your giggling and play some ball, we only have a few more days," and I was off to playing ball. I was usually the first person there, and so, I had the privilege of hearing coach rambling on about stuff.

"The next practice is tomorrow after school. And you have ta come on Saturday and Sunday. Those are the big practice days, we'll be going for two hours, maybe longer," he said when all the guys had finished their warm up, " I know this may seem crazy and I might look like the meanest person in the world, but when we win that trophy--- all this pays off," and he started smiling as though the trophy was only one step away from his reach.

"So, you coming to practice tomorrow after school?" I asked after the practice was over.

"I did promise to show up for the practices, didn't I, and I intend to keep that promise," she smiled as we walked out of the gym with linked arms.

"Sure, we can go out for dinner afterwards. My treat," I offered. She rested her head on my shoulder as we walked to our lockers and said,

"TK, you're so good to me..." and with that, the bell rang and the whole school stampeded in. We each went our separate ways and it wasn't till lunch time when I received a note from her.

_Hey buride,_

_Remember how I said we'll fly away someday? Well, the guys are all going out for lunch, and I'm not going! I'll see you at your table._

_luv, your butterfly._

A big smile appeared on my face, and never in my life had I gone down to the cafeteria as fast as I did that day. The lineup seemed to take forever, but soon enough, I had my lunch and was off to my table.

"Burdie!!" she smiled as I approached my table. I placed my tray on the table and gave her a hug. We then sat down, and were joined by the guys, who were always happy to have Kari around. We laughed and joked about stuff, and well, you know how when you're having a good time, time just flies by? Well, that's what happened. Before I knew it, lunch time was over, and the afternoon classes were about to begin.

~*~

Friday after school- I rushed out of the change room as soon as I could, and after listening to the coaches speech, I went off to find Kari, who was to meet me by my locker.

"So butterfly, where do you wanna go?" I asked, as we walked out of the school.

"Um, to tell you the truth, I wanna go on a picnic. Let's get something and go to the park by my place. I know a great picnic spot," I agreed, and soon, we were out of the pizza place and at the park. 

"We have to do this more often," I heard her say, "I wish I could turn back time," and there she went again, repeating that phrase. I didn't want her to start crying again, so I quickly changed the subject.

"So, are you gonne sit in your usual seat on Monday?"

"Of course! I'll be in the front row, seat eight, to see my favourite player, player number eight," she smiled, took the last bite out of her pizza, and waited for me to finish mine. After we were done, we lay on the grass and looked at the clouds.

"I wish..." she started.

" I know... you wish you could turn back time... to tell you the truth, I wish you could turn back time too..." I said that rather softly, as though I didn't want her to hear me, but she did.

"TK..."

"Yes Kari?"

"Have you ever thought about how things would be if there was ever an "us"?" 

"What?"

"Oh come on TK... Have you ever thought what it would be like if we were together? I find myself thinking about it every second of every day. I guess that's why I want to turn back time... I want to see how things would have turned out if I was with you instead of Davis... I've been asking myself all these questions, and the truth is..." 

"Yeah?"

"TK..."

"Yes angel?"

"I love you," and then, she sat up and crawled towards where I was lying, pressed her body against mine, and out lips touched. I don't know how long it lasted, but it was bliss. I wrapped my arms around her tiny waist until we ran out of breath. When we opened our eyes and saw ourselves, we both lay silent for a minute, and then, we got up and started walking around the park, hand in hand.

"Hiki.."

"Yes Burdie?"

"I love you too.... I've loved you ever since I knew what that word meant...." and I just held her in my arms for the rest of the evening, never planning to let go.

~*~

"Takaishi, what the hell's got into you?" asked the coach the next morning, " Whatever the hell it is, I want you to keep it for the game. You ain't missing a single shot today!" I looked at Kari.. she was what happened. I felt like I was playing the game for her, and I guess that's how I scored most of my points. Then, I heard her yelling from her seat,

"Yeah Takaishi, what's gotten into you?" and she giggled after that, and gave me a wink.

"I don't know butterfly.... do you?" and I winked back, and went back to playing the game before I was yelled at by the coach.

After the game, Kari and I went to the ice cream parlor, and had a little something to eat. 

"I love butterflies...." I said, as I swallowed a spoonful of ice cream.

"Yeah, and I like caterpillars," and then she smiled, "but I_ love_ burdies!" I smiled back. The rest of the day was spent at the park, where I rested my head on Kari's lap and she ran her fingers through my hair again. I loved it when she did that.

"So.... what are you gonna do about Davis?" I asked.

"I don't know. You're a bird, you eat him..." she said with a grin.

"But his worm friends will eat me before I have a chance to eat him. I say we just fly away. When you get tired, you can rest on my back, and I'll fly you around," I sat up and gave her a kiss, "now it's your turn to rest," and we switched placed, and I was the one running my fingers through her hair.

"I'll break up with him during half time of the game. Oh TK... why am I always so happy when I'm with you?"

"The exact same reason why I'm always happy when I'm with you," I replied, now caressing her white face.

~*~

I walked on to the court with all the other guys to find every seat in the gym filled with a cheering crowd. The opposing team came in, and the crowd was still cheering. But I didn't care about the cheering crowd, as my eyes directly went to seat number eight, and I found Kari sitting there, with her camera around her neck. Davis was there too, but I didn't care, cause I knew that Kari's heart was mine. 

" Ladies and gentlemen, we are now approaching the end of the second quarter of the game, with the green team leading 36 - 28. The green team's captain, number 8, TK Takaishi is on fire ladies and gentlemen. If he keeps playing like this, there is no way we can lose" BEEEEEEP. The shot clock went off, marking the end of the first half. I looked again at where Kari was sitting, and she was no longer there. Neither was Davis.... hmm....so this was it.. I went to the change room, dried myself off with a towel, and went around the school, looking for Kari. I was halfway down the hall, where I saw them... together... kissing by my locker. My heart was shattered to pieces. How could she? I felt my eyes burning with rage, and I decided not to disturb them. Instead, I returned to the court, where everyone was taking a break, and started shooting some hoops, with a destroyed spirit. I shot 10 hoops, only 4 of them made it. I couldn't play anymore. Kari was the fire that was burning within me, and now, the fire had been burnt out. 

"Ladies and gents, we will begin the third quarter in a minute, so please return to your seats, as the game is about to start. I remained sitting on the bench, and saw Kari and Davis coming in. Kari caught my eye and started to wave at me. I waved back, and then, the game started.

"Ladies and gents, only 1 minute left of the third quarter, and the green team has lost their lead! The blue team is now leading 64-56. Takaishi of the green team seems to have lost his touch, as his shots so far have been 5 of 17! And now, the blue team has the ball with under a minute to go- and score!!! The ball is passed to Takaishi, who makes another shot, oh.. and a big miss.... 6 seconds to go of the third, can the blue team score? AND YES... they score and are leading 68-56 as we take a short break before the fourth quarter of the game."

I sat on the bench, feeling twice as miserable. I didn't even bother drying my face. 

"TK TAKAISHI!" yelled the coach, " WHAT THE HELL HAS HAPPENED TO YOU?! I WANT YOU TO GET YOUR ACT TOGETHER AND PLAY LIKE YOU WERE PLAYING BEFORE HALFTIME!" that was the final straw.

"I'm not playing. I'm not making any difference, so just leave me alone," and I walked to the change room, my head down, sweat dripping from my face.

"Teek... don't do this to us. You're our only hope. We need you. Come on... don't feel bad. We'll get 'em," said Ryan, who had followed me to the change room, " just think about it, you have one minute to decide, we need you" and with a faint smile, he left the room. 

The needed me... obviously, Kari didn't. I couldn't make the team suffer because of Kari. She had done enough harm as it was, I couldn't let it get worse. 

"Hey guys, need a hand?" I found myself saying, with a big smile on my face, my voice full of energy.

"I knew you'd come Teek. Now, let's go get 'em. GOOO GREEN!!" and we were on the court again, with me feeling refreshed.

"Ladies and gents, we are now entering the fourth quarter. The green team has the ball, number 5 passes to number 6, who passes to Takaishi, and he shoots a three and gets to go to the line! The first one's in, and .... so is the second one. It seems as though Takaishi is back ladies and gents, and he's playing ball! The blue team has the ball- number 3 passes to number 1 who shoots... oh, great rebound by Takaishi ladies and gents.... he passes to number 3 who passes it right back to Takaishi, and score!!!!! This is now a four point game! .....

..... 30 seconds left, green team leading by 2, blue team ball. Number 7 passes to 5 and score!!! It's a tie with only 8 seconds to go. The ball is passed to Takaishi, who shoots to ball... NO! he misses... and he's their for the rebound... slam dunk by Takaishi, who wins the game, and the trophy for the green team!!!" 

The cheers were loud- very loud. The guys were all over me, and to my surprise, Coach skipped towards me and gave me a hug.

"We won!!! We won!!" he reminded me of a little boy who had just received some candy. He was happier than we were. 

The whole award ceremony was over and the people were leaving the gym.

"Teek, we're going out ta celebrate. Hurry it up!" I heard Jim say.

"I'll join you guys after, k? I wanna stay behind for a while," and he nodded and left to tell the other guys. In a minute or two, I went to the change room, showered and changed into my clothes, and was back on the empty court. I stared at seats 8 and 9. I picked up the basket ball and slammed it at seat eight. All of a sudden, I heard a feminine voice from behind.

"TK.. you were fabulous," and to my surprise, I found myself turning red,

"Damn you Kari... how could you kiss him like that?" and with that I turned around to see a shocked face. 

"Oh dear... you saw..... oh no..... I'm sorry TK.. I couldn't... Oh God... I know, I'll fix things. I'll break up with him right after we leave.... please TK... don't be mad... say you still love me," she said, as she followed me out the gym and to the school's front door,

I paused for a minute, and thought about how much I loved her. But sometimes, love wasn't enough. Just then, I thought about my parents- sure, they loved each other but there were too many problems,"I'm sorry Kari, I can't. Not until you know exactly what you want," and I stepped outside without speaking or listening to another word, into the cold rain, walking away from her, with cold tears running down my eyes.

~*~THE END~*~

How was that? Too long? Too pointless? Too something?? I dunno? Please please please review!!! Death threats are more than welcome. I have no problem with flames. Regular reviews are fine. Just write up a little something- You can write about what you had for lunch for all I care. just review!!! 

*Amber*

Disclaimer- I don't own the digi characters. 


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